Blago in My Eyes
It has been almost a year and a half since I moved to Blagoevgrad (Blago) from Ulaanbaatar. It is the best decision of my life... Wait, I won’t lie. It's not true and that’s not the point. Let me start again.
It's my second winter in Blago. It's the second year since I fell in love with olives. It's the second year since I started truly discovering myself. It's the second year since I started having real conversations with myself, and observing people on the street, and looking at the clouds drawing animals on them with my eyes.
Some people see Blago as a too quiet and too small place to live. I agree, in the beginning I felt the same way. But no more. Things have changed a lot since I decided to leave my room and go out to explore the outside world. Without knowing where I am going, I just walk and observe how life is going on the streets.
Now, I would say it's an incredibly calm and safe place to be. I understand that things aren’t always what they seem. It's just what we make it.
The first time when I started going out with my camera, my camera was shy. I worried that people will be angry at me when I photograph them. But the reality was different. Actually, people in Blago are not so bad towards the camera. I was surprised.
She was running,
She saw me taking her picture,
She slowed down,
She straightened her back and started walking,
She didn’t move her head nor her eyes,
She pretended like she never saw me taking her picture,
I continued photographing every step of her until she disappeared from my eyes.
Photography changed my perspective on life a lot. I was always looking for a huge thing that will make me happy or satisfied. I was wrong. Exploring, and going, and secretly talking to the people’s eyes on the streets of Blago made my life exciting as it was never before.
The central square of Blagoevgrad is my favorite place to observe people. So many different types of people gather there to enjoy the weather at the same time. Young and old. Happy and sad. Wealthy and poor. Fat and skinny… But they all carry their own beautiful stories in their eyes.
He is sitting alone,
He is not moving,
He is thinking about something very deeply,
I was watching at him for a few moments,
I was so close that anyone would notice that someone is watching,
But he didn’t or maybe he did!
I captured this moment and left him alone in his silence.
